OLA -OLF said the incident happened 2 months ago.
A video circulating online, in which Fano militias, Oromo Liberation Army (OLA-OLF), and some politicians blame the Ethiopian government for using the film to create narratives as a scapegoat for the current political upheaval, has sparked further political violence in Ethiopia’s Oromia region.
A 24-second shocking video shows when the throat of a young man was cut with a machete in Dera Wereda (district), North Shewa Zone of the Oromia region.
Following the video’s circulation on social media on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, social media users, even some “responsible” public and foreign media houses, reported the incident without verifying the video.
Legesse Tulu, Ethiopia’s Minster of Government Communication Service, on Thursday, accused the Amhara Fano militias over the alleged killing of the young man without detailing the investigation results in a post on his personal Facebook account.
“The extremist group, which named itself “Fano” and Shene are two sides of the same coin,” he said, accusing that both Fano and Shene have brutally killed people whom they think of as their enemy.
Similarly, Hailu Adugna, Head of the Oromia Communication Bureau, on Thursday accused both Fano militias and Shene(OLA-OLF) over the alleged beheading of the young man in his press release.
The Amhara Fano Shewa Province Command, Atse Dawit Division’s Asaminew Brigade, has condemned the alleged killing of the young man and accused the regime of fabricating and using the incident to provoke the Oromo nationalists’ feelings.
OLA-OLF said the incident is under investigation to hold the perpetrators accountable based on facts and truth in its press statement issued on X, on November 20, 2024.
“Whether these ground offensives are being carried out by Abiy’s forces masquerading as Amhara militias to instigate horizontal conflict or by forces officially affiliated with the armed group in the Amhara region is still under investigation,” OLA stressed.
In today’s press statement, OLA-OLF announced that the incident in which a video showing the beheading of the young man (Dejene Amare) happened 2 months ago.
“Our preliminary findings indicate that individuals identifying themselves as the Fano of Dera, who are supported by the local agents of the regime such as Alemayehu Ayalew, were responsible for these gruesome crimes,” underscored the statement.
Both Jawar Mohamed, a prominent ethnic-Oromo politician, and Ezekiel Gebissa, a Professor of History and African Studies from ethnic-Oromo have strongly blamed the government on platforms (Facebook and YouTube) for fabricating political narratives at the expense of human lives, following the shocking video of beheading circulated on social media.
